Meredith Wittmann named Regional Librarian

The Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) and Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped (WRLBPH) announced today that Meredith Wittmann has been
named Regional Librarian. She will begin her new duties on January 5, 2009.

Wittmann, a native Milwaukeean who grew up in Cudahy, is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Library and Information Science. She came to MPL in June 2007 from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) library. Wittmann has been the outreach librarian for WRLBPH since March 2008.

Wittmann replaces Marsha Valance, who retires from WRLBPH and MPL after 19 years of service on December 30.

Under a contract with the State Department of Public Instruction, MPL administers the WRLBPH, which provides services statewide to those who are blind, visually impaired or physically challenged to hold a book. WRLBPH services are free and require a doctor’s certification.

UW-Madison supports Spectrum Scholar

ALA reports that the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School of Library and Information Studies will waive tuition for Omar Poler, a 2008 American Library Association (ALA) Spectrum Scholarship winner.

Poler is pursuing a master’s degree in library and information science at Wisconsin, which first offered matching scholarships to Spectrum recipients in its graduate program in library and information studies in 1998. Wisconsin has supported past scholars in varying ways including: tuition wavers, conference support, special campus support and recognition as Spectrum scholars in the university’s publications.

Poler is a Mole Lake Sokaogon Ojibwe tribal member, who grew up in a small Anishinaabe community in northeastern Wisconsin’s Forest County. He graduated from The University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in History. Poler hopes to combine an interest in academic librarianship with American Indian history and language––specifically in the service of Wisconsin’s various American Indian communities. He hopes to build skills to facilitate the communities’ ability to use information sources.

Wisconsin’s School of Library and Information Studies matching funds provide Spectrum Scholars with adequate financial assistance to pursue and finish their studies. Its effort to attract Spectrum Scholars demonstrates the importance of diversity as a value to the university.

For more information about the Spectrum Scholarship program, go to http://ala.org/spectrum/. More information about UW-Madison SLIS can be found at http://www.slis.wisc.edu/.